Ultimatum
by MissingMyMind
Summary: After returning to Asgard against his will, Loki is faced with a decision: remain on Asgard and surrender to his punishment, or be banished to Midgard with his magic stripped from him. Easy choice, right?
1. Chapter 1

"The decision is _yours_, Loki. Remain in Asgard, and carry out the punishment I assign to you until I believe you have repented for your crimes, or return to Midgard, stripped of your magic, where you shall remain in your brother's care until the time you are truly worthy of the name 'Odinson'," Odin, Father-of-All, stared down from his golden throne at the Once-King Loki Laufeyson-Odinson.****

Loki emitted an impressive growl, despite being bound by a muzzle-like device. Neither option was appealing. Glaring up at Odin, he made a short jerky motion with his chin to emulate his desire for the muzzle to be removed. Odin raised his hand and the device fell away, clattering noisily to the gleaming golden floor.****

"_Speak_," the Allfather commanded. But Loki remained silent, briefly contemplating his next move. The choice was rather obvious to him. Return to Midgard where he could give Thor, the great oaf he was, the slip and go into hiding. Then he would be able to research a way to return his magic. He knew that if he remained in Asgard there was no way possible for him to escape the torture and punishment 'his father' Odin had prepared for him. Loki was also aware that Odin was not the forgiving sort, and that he would most likely be trapped in eternal torment; hidden as the shameful monster that dared to turn away from a family that had so 'graciously' welcomed him, with all their lies and deceit.****

"I would rather spend my time among pathetic mortals, thanin a realm where I am seen as nothing but a monster," Loki's face twisted into a mask of fury.****

Odin stood, his expression drawn down in resignation, "Very well." Raising his staff, he struck the floor with one end, creating a loud, sharp clang that reverberated through the entire throne room. A cry of astonishment rose from the onlookers as a bright flash of light enveloped the trickster, and hid him from view. This left Loki looking down at his arm in horror. What skin he could see was covered in tattoos of runes running across his skin in complicated patterns.****

"Those runes will prevent you from doing anything but the most _basic_of spells. You will not be able to break them by physical or magical means. _You are hereby cast from Asgard, never to return_." With that said, Odin stepped back and swept his cape aside as he exited the room. As the crowd dispersed, Thor moved from his position by the throne to stand beside Loki, and rested his hand on the other god's arm to lead him away. As was becoming a habit, Loki growled at him and wrenched out of Thor's grasp.****

"Brother," Thor pleaded, "please, do not be like this."****

"Do not touch me," Loki sneered in answer, stalking off down the vast hall towards the massive door that led to Heimdell, and in turn, the Bifrost. Freshly magically shackled, there was no need for him to be bound and he'd been released from the bindings that had physically restrained him.****

"Brother!" Thor called after him, rushing to catch up. Swiveling on the spot, Loki abruptly turned back to Thor, who nearly ran into him.****

"I am no brother of yours!" he shouted. His face was mere inches from Thor's. It showed rage and madness clear in his eyes. "Stop speaking such lies, Thor. It does not suit you," he continued, outrage seeping out of his expression, leaving him looking sickly and weary. "No one would be a brother to a monster such as I, if they were given any choice." He turned to leave.****

"Loki," Thor breathed. His voice betrayed his sorrow. "You will never be a monster to me. "Loki scoffed. "I will be in my room until you are ready for our departure," he said frostily. Thor watched him leave, his brow knotted in a combination of emotions.****

Retiring to his room, Loki glanced around at his possessions. He found that he could not bring himself to care about any of it. It was all worthless, meaningless. Most of the items in the room only served as a painful reminder of the family he was not truly a part of and the life that he did not belong in. Most were mementos and trophies from battles fought with Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three. There were also many tomes that he had received from his mother over the years. Snarling in fury, he lashed out, sweeping his once 'treasures' to the glimmering floor, causing as much destruction as he could in the hopes of quelling the maelstrom of emotions within. He raged until he was exhausted, and there remained nothing that wasn't broken or spilled. Then he sank down to lean against the bed amidst the wreckage.****

That was how Thor found him sometime later. He didn't comment, knowing that Loki would just retaliate against any show of affection or pity. Instead, all he said was, "It's time."****

Loki shot a venomous look as he rose to his feet, but didn't speak as they made their way to the Bifrost. Thor nodded to the solitary figure on the shattered remains of the once beautiful bridge. Although the bridge no longer worked, there were still ways to travel between the realms, but they required a lot of energy.****

"Heimdell," Thor greeted, "We seek passage to Midgard."****

"Keep him out of trouble," Heimdell looked at the trickster with distaste.****

"Aye," Thor agreed, "I shall do my best." With that, Thor and Loki found themselves hurling through a pocket of space towards Earth. They landed with a loud boom and shockwave in the same desert where they would have been deposited by the Bifrost… were it still available. Loki knew there was another, easier way for them to reach this miserable realm, but didn't bother to inform Thor. Yes, it meant more work for himself in the long run, but he really loathed making the thunder god's life any easier. He was still filled with cold fury and extraordinarily spite.****

"Come, brother, we must inform my friends of our arrival," Thor held Mjolnir in one hand, and offered the other to Loki. Loki hated him more in that moment than ever before. He felt weak without his magic, like he hadn't felt since he was a young child still learning how to harness the power, and yet, he couldn't refuse that hand this time. Whether he liked it or not, he depended on Thor for transportation. Clenching his teeth, he reluctantly took the offered hand, and braced against the force of the wind which ripped the air from his lungs when Thor launched into the sky.****

In less time than should've been possible, they arrived at what once was the ruins of Stark Tower. Now, it was in a state of repair, scaffolding, wood, and metal cobbled together in an attempt to bring it to its former "glory". They landed roughly at the very top of the tower, on what appeared to be a helipadof sorts. Unused to this physical mode of transportation, Loki stumbled when his feet hit the ground.****

"Please remain here until I have had a chance to talk to them," Thor ordered. He walked to the glass doors and let himself into the building. Loki had no choice but to obey, bile rising in his throat at the thought. Without his magic, there wasn't any wayfor him to leave the roof, other than jumping, and as immortal as he may be, he was not invincible. A fall from this height was likely to kill him. Scowling at the door Thor had left through, Loki sat down against the nearest wall, which was more like a pillar and would do nothing to prevent his fall. At this height the wind was strong, and whipped his hair around his head and into his face. Annoying, but bearable. What wasn't bearable though, was Thor.****

Oh, how he hated his brother. How he despised this filthy, primitive, disease-infested realm. What disgusting, simple creatures. They were hardly worth his notice. One day, once he had found a way to break the enchantment Odin had placed on him, he would rule this puny world. Without him to command them, they were sure to destroy themselves. And yet… it would be so very amusing to watch the world descend into chaos, and burn.****

Absently staring off into the distance, Loki let himself fall into a meditative state, spreading his awareness out. Powerless as he currently was, he was still able to do this simple thing. He knew the mortals still had the staff he had received to lead the army of Chitari. Such an item would guarantee massive power at his disposal. Letting his mind drift, he felt the seductive call of the staff, its power pulsing and beckoning him, calling for him to fall into the sweet embrace of madness. Yes, he yearned for it like the touch of a lover. The power caressed his consciousness, whispering and stoking the fire of rage that burned within him. Loki breathed deeply and shuddered, lost in the flow of magic. This was good. The connection was very strong, meaning the stupid mortals had been unable to destroy the source of power. Therefore, it was logical to assume that it was "hidden" somewhere on the planet. Now it would just be a matter of biding his time and waiting for the moment he could steal it away. It meant "playing nice", as it were, with the mortals, to keep them from attempting to lock him up or some such thing.****

Even the thought of working with the "Avengers", as they called themselves, made his skin crawl, but he wasn't called the Liesmith for nothing. It would take little effort for him to integrate himself into their group, and maybe even get them to foolishly begin trusting him. All he would need was a little flattery here, a subtle shift of attitude there. He was interrupted from his musing by the door blowing open and Tony Stark storming onto the platform. Thor trailed behind.****

Loki looked up mildly at the enraged man from his seat on the ground. He stood up calmly, as if completely unconcerned by the current events. Once on his feet, though, he found himself thrown back by a punch to his jaw, leaving him dangerously close to the edge of the building.****

"Tony!" Thor cried, moving to help his brother by restraining Stark. Loki drew himself up and leveled his gaze at Tony.****

"_No_Thor, I don't care what you say about him being powerless! This son-of-a-bitch has to for the damage he caused. People _DIED_because of his actions," Tony hissed, pulling away from Thor.****

"Losing his magic is payment enough," Thor told him gently, "to lose his magic like this is equal to you losing the use of your limbs."****

"That's not _nearly_enough!"****

"Stark," Loki cut in, finally drawing their attention back to him. "Do you know the feeling of having your entire being… hollowed out? To feel empty, broken, and as if _everything_precious to you has been destroyed?"**  
****  
**His answer was plain to see as the colour drained from Tony's face, making him look sallow.****

"It is a thousand times worse than that," Loki added. He sneered and stalked off, determined to remove himself from the sickening presence of Stark. Loki bolted through the door, refusing to admit, even to himself, how shaken he was by the encounter.****

"Should we not go after him?" Thor frowned, brow creased in worry.****

"Nah, JARVIS won't let him mess with anything and will notify me if he even thinks of trying to leave the building," Tony ran his engine oil covered hand through his hair, clearly trying to calm himself.****

"If you are sure," Thor responded with a nod.****

"'If'?" Tony scoffed, "JARVIS is my creation, and the most advanced Artificial Intelligence in the world. I'm not worried about a so-called 'God' who is currently about as powerful as a kitten."****

"Even kittens have claws," Thor advised, but dropped the subject. "Where are the others?" he asked as he followed the shorter man back into the tower, to the penthouse.****

"Here and there," Tony waved his hand lazily in the air. "Agent Romanoff and _Legolas_are off working on some top secret mission for SHIELD. Cap's gone on a road trip across the country, and Bruce stays here at the tower." They reached the main living area, where Loki had thrown Tony out the window during the battle. Construction was still underway, and sheets of thick plastic draped everything, although the window Tony had crashed through had finally been replaced.****

"Drink?" he asked, walking up to the fully replenished bar. Thor politely declinedand stared out the window in dismay at the scars still evident from the destruction caused by the battle.****

"I will take you up on your offer of refreshments, now," came a voice from the sunken couch at the other end of the room. Startled, both Tony and Thor turned towards the sound to find Loki casually draped over the plush couch as if he were royalty. Torn between wanting to scowl or smirk in response, Tony's face contorted into a comical expression. Instead of acknowledging Loki, he continued his conversation with Thor, only now he made two drinks instead of one.****

"Nick's gonna give himself an aneurysm when he finds out Tricks is here," Tony remarked, lounging against the bar. He left the drink on the counter where he made it. He may have given into the request, but there was no way in hell that he was going to play servant to the god as well. He could come get his own goddamn drink if he wanted it.****

"You have such a strange manner of speaking, my friend," Thor shook his head, "I agree though. Fury will be displeased with my father's demand."****

"Displeased is a huge understatement. This is going to be one hell of a shitstorm. SHIELD's gonna be all over him. They'll want to lock him away, and probably interrogate him as well," Tony warned. "Not that I'm going to stop them or anything," he glared at the aforementioned god. Loki glowered back before turning away and staring out the window as if something out there had caught his attention and was more interesting than Tony Stark. But Stark couldn't even find it in himself to be offended by Loki's lack of interest.****

"I will not allow that," Thor crossed his arms over his chest, "he is here to learn the error of his ways and to redeem himself. Not unlike how I did when I was banished to Midgard. What better way than to remain here and help to protect the people and this planet?" Tony opened his mouth to retort, but promptly snapped it shut when he couldn't refute Thor's logic.****

"Fine," he pouted, "but I'm not playing babysitter, ever. And you get to deal with Jolly-One-Eye, and his team of misfits when they get back, whenever that is. Just a heads up: Barton's most likely going to try to shoot him in the eye with an arrow. He was _very_disappointed that he missed the chance before you guys went back yonder. Plus, I'll be surprised if Bruce doesn't automatically Hulk out at the sight of him. Speaking of which-" He slammed back his drink and placed the glass down beside the full one set aside for Loki – it figured the bastard wouldn't come get it himself. Probably was just trying to powertrip him. Ignoring Loki, Tony mock saluted Thor as he passed, making his way to the elevator, presumably to go warn Banner of their new house guest. "While you're here, my house is your house, buddy. Feel free to wander around and use whatever you'd like, but that doesn't apply to him," Stark pointed to Loki, giving him stink eye as the elevator closed in front of him.****

Only after Stark left did Loki raise himself off of the sofa and saunter over to the bar.****

"We should see if there are any available rooms for you to stay in, brother," Thor commented as he approached. With another venomous look, Loki knocked back his glass, emptying it entirely of alcohol, grimacing at the taste.****

"As you wish," he spat, slamming the cup down roughly.****

Sighing, Thor led the way to the very elevator Stark had left in.****

Loki followed, seething to himself. As they waited he began to plot.****

He would _not allow_this torment to be his life.


	2. Chapter 2

In the months since Loki had been banished to Midgard, he found the inhabitants continued to bore him with their petty lives. Yes, there had been some excitment when the departed members of the Avengers returned to the newly renovated, and renamed 'Avengers Tower'. The only members present when he arrived were Tony Stark and a man named Bruce Banner, who he quickly found out was the massive creature called the Hulk. Neither were happy to see him.

Predictably, Dr. Banner had released the beast and had to be restrained. Luckily for everyone involved, Stark had prepared him and had isolated him in a 'time out' room as he called it, before telling him the news. Stark hadn't been any more pleased when Thor had announced their arrival, and even had the audacity to strike him.

The next to be told was Director Fury. As expected, he wanted the god within SHIELD's custody. his order was denied though when he met resistance from Thor, and surprisingly enough, Stark too. Stark had made the argument of where better to hold a super villain than under the same roof as a whole team of super powered people to stop him. With his options so limited, he had recalled Black Widow from her latest mission to monitor the situation. What Loki found very interesting was the absence of Agent Barton. No one had told him the reason directly, but he knew they believed he would still be able to control the man. Fools. Without his sceptre he was not much more powerful that a pathetic mortal. And how weak they were! It was endlessly frustrating to aattempt spells that were once second nature to him, only to have them fail. It made his blood boil to be reduced to this shell.

He was confined to the tower until they felt he was trustworthy. In the meantime he was spending the majority of his days alone in his room, meditating. There he could focus all his energy on strengthening the connection between himself and his only chance to break free. As the connection grew, he was slowly able to pinpoint the location IT was hidden. He was delighted to discover it was remarkably close by. In the same city he resided in fact. Fury most likely thought it would be 'safe' under his own watchful eye. How wrong they all were.

As time went by, Loki was able to siphon bit of magic from the sceptre. Not a lot at first, but his reservoir was building. Containing the foreign magic as he was was leaving him often sickly and feverish. Which was just one more reason for him to avoid contact with the other inhabitants of the tower. Holding magic within that was not his natural magic was a huge strain on his body, and even he had to admit, his mental state.

Thor had voiced his concern on Loki's decline in health and had mentioned it on various occasions, but Loki just brushed him to the side. When he did have to interact with the others, he always maintained a polite, if a bit cold, attitude so not to bring more suspicion himself. For the most part, that tactic seemed to work. After the first month, Agent Romanoff ceased camping outside the door to his room. It was two month before the esteemed leader of their group, Captain America, returned. He too, hit Loki. With a lot more sucess than Stark. Loki was sporting a black eye for the next couple of days after the encounter.

Loki was disturbed from his latest round of meditation by Thor knocking on his door. Rage once again bubbled up inside of him. He was not in the mood to talk to his brother right now, but then again, he never was.

"What do you want, Brother?" he inquired through the door. Since his banishment, he had taken to referring to Thor as 'Brother' in an attempt to distract him from his true thoughts. Thor had been sickingly overjoyed by that development and had declared his rehabilitation success.

"We must speak," Thor's grave voice came though the door. Scowling, Loki reluctantly got up and opened the door, waving Thor into the room.

"Well?" Loki demanded after a minute of silence.

"You are unwell," Thor started. Loki's scowl deepened.

"It will pass," he replied flippantly.

"No, Loki. You have been worsening these past few weeks. Please, Brother, tell me what ails you," Thor pleaded.

"Nothing of consequence," he said, "It will pass soon enough. Now if you would please, I wish to be alone right now." Looking crestfallen, Thor bowed his head and left. Loki breathed slow and evenly, until the red faded from his vision and his heart was no longer pounding in his ears.

As he left Loki's room, Thor felt ill at heart. He knew his brother must still be under the influence of the sceptre. There was no other explanation. He was aware that Fury had recovered the item after they had apprehended Loki. It was time he had a talk with the man about properly disposing of the sceptre. No good could come from something of that power remaining on Midgard.

Now he just had to find a way to contact Fury. His best bet was to ask Tony. If anyone would be able to locate him, it would be Stark. As expected, Thor found Tony in his shop up to his shoulders in engine oil, and what passed for music in this age blasting over the speakers. When he noticed Thor, Tony absently waved to him and had JARVIS turn off the music.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your presense in my shop?" Tony asked, wiping the oil on his arms with an equally oily rag.

"I wish to request an audience with Director Fury, but am unsure how to contact him."

"Well!" Tony clapped his hands together gleefully. "You have come to the right genius! I've been looking for a reason to give 'Mad-eye' a call." Thor tilted his head to the side in bemusement at the odd nickname.

"When will you be able to notify him of my request?" he asked.

"What about right now? I'll even make it a video call so we can see that moody face of his. JARVIS?" Tony grinned, presumably at his own wit. A screen appeared on the wall opposite Thor.

"What do you want now, Stark?" Fury snapped as he appeared on the screen a few moments later. Tony just pointed to Thor. Fury directed his scowl at the god.

"You have the sceptre." That was not a question. "You must be rid of it. That thing still has my brother enthralled."

"And I care why? You said Loki was powerless without acess to his magic. We have the sceptre under very tight lock and key. He won't be getting at it, ever," Fury stated.

"Loki is known for being a trickster and liesmith. He is very good at manipulation to get what he wants, and as of late he has become even more unstable-"

"What do I care if he has gone off the deep end?" Fury cut in. "If you've forgotten, this is the man who tried to invade and rule this planet, he could rot in the furthest depths of Hell, for how much his 'feelings' register on my priority list."

"Oooo, little harsh there, Nicky," Stark muttered to himself in the background. Thro's expression turned thunderous.

"If you do not heed my warning, I cannot guarantee Loki will not threaten the safety of this world again.

"Don't call me again unless you have something that should really concern me," with that, Fury disconnected the call.

"He is a fool," Thor growled.

"Well that was fun," Tony commented, leaning back against the bench. "So h8w much of a threat is your brother?"

"I do not know, but I am growing more unease as time goes by. This has all seemed far too easy," Thor explained.

"We can't really do anything until he has made his move," Tony stroked his chin thoughtfully, leaving oil streaked across his face. "I'll have JARVIS keep tabs on him. The moment he even breaths wrong, we'll know."

"Thank you, my friend," Thor clapped him firmly on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off his feet with the force.

"Yeah, no problem," Tony grabbed the nearest tool and swung it around, "for the team, and all that. Now, if we're done here, I have work to do." Thor smiled and left the flustered man to his work.

Another few months passed and Loki's borrowed magic grew stronger as his sickened. Thor's suspicion faded into worry as his brother's health continued to fail him, returning him to the state he was in when he had first come to Earth to steal the Tesseract. His mood was also more erratic. He would switch from meek and calm to raging alone in his room.

Until finally, "It's time," Loki breathed, excitement swelling in his gut. With the increase of magic, he had finally located the exact location of the sceptre. closing his eyes he gathered the magic close and then released it in the in the precise way that teleported him to the scepter.

The few guards were so caught unaware that they had no time to respond before Loki lashed out, launching two of the five angents into the wall with bone shattering force. He then summoned flaming globes of magic and dispatched the remaining agents. Looking around at his surrounding, he was astonished and then angered to discover that he had misjudged the distance to the sceptre and itnwas still multiple levels below him. He snarled and headed for the nearest staircase. There was no chance that he was going to risk another teleportation spell. He had already used more magic than he was comfortable with and he did not want to deplete his supply before he was able to make his escape. As it was, he hoped there were no more agents between him and his prize. The likelihood that he would be able to fight and make his escape was slim.

It was just his luck though that he would nearly run into another group of agents while going around the corner on the level he believed the sceptre was held. He pulled back at the last minute and hid in the measly shadow of the doorway to the stairs. The agents appeared to be escorting a mutinous young woman down the hall. Ah, that was Stark's peraonal assistant. Well now, it appeared as if his luck was changing! Nearing the unsuspecting group, he risked one last spell to turn himself invisible. He snuck up and grabbed the girl, jumping away more quickly than the agents were able to react. When they finally had their guns trained on the god, he had a tight grip on Stark's assistant, holding her in front of him as a shield.

"Not one step closer," he ordered, tightening his grip on the girl. She squirmed in his grasp, failing to loosen his painful grip.

"Ohhh, you are so on my shit list, buster!" she snapped.

"Silence, mortal, or I will forcibly do so," he growled into her ear. With a flick of his wrist, he knocked out the agents and continued down the hall, following the magical signature, and dragging the struggling girl along beside him. He felt drained and weak, having already used too much magic. His only hope of escape now was to reach the sceptre.

Darcy fumed as she was dragged down the halls of the _supposedly _super secret headquarters. Yeah, okay, technically she wasn't supposed to be there herself, but the chance to snoop was too good to pass up. Since she had overheard Thor and Tony discussing this sceptre that SHIELD claimed to have hidden away, she knew she had to check it out and report back to Tony. Hell, he would probably have been super jealous of her making it into SHIELD when he was legally unable to even touch Speaking of which, how had Loki even managed to make it inside? According to Thor, Loki had no magic. Well, Darcy had seen proof that he wasn't as magicless as everyone thought, if the bright flashes of energy materializing in his hand was anything to go by.

Soon enough, Darcy found herself being manhandled into a large room with a glass case in the cener. Inside the case was what appeared to be a weapon of some kind. It glowed blue and had a blade on one end. Holy shit, that must be the sceptre. She squawked as she was flung to the side, no longer of interest. Loki had his eyes trained on the weapon, now glowing a vibrant blue, a feral grin on his face. A bolt of terror ran through Darcy when she saw his expression. Oh boy, that was a look that no one would ever want aimed in their direction. She prayed he wouldn't remember that she was still there.

In that instant, all the sound in the room silenced, and a pressure began to build, as if the god was gathering it all within the glowing orb in floating above his palm. The pressure even seemed to tear the breath from her lungs.

Two things happened then; first, Loki unleashed the energy at the secured weapon, shattering the glass and setting off at least a dozen alarms, second, there was a loud explosion above them and the Hulk crashed down on Loki through the ceiling. Darcy stared in amazement as the rest of the Avengers dropped down through the opening after him.

"Lewis!" Iron Man called out, landing beside her and pulling her to her feet. "You doing alright, kid?" She nodded as she coughed and knocked debris out of her hair.

"Been better," she wheezed, swaying on unsteady feet. Convinced that she would live, he told her they would talk later about lame B&E attempts and returned to the other side of the room where the others had Loki pinned down. Once it was obvious that he wasn't going anywhere, Thor made his way through the rubble to Darcy.

"Are you well, Darcy," he asked gently, worry etched into his face.

"I'm alive, and at least I can never say my life is boring," she grinned up at him. With a sigh of relief, he patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm glad," he rumbled. "Now if you would excuse me, there is something I must do." With grim determination he turned back to Loki, but did not walk over to him like she expected, instead he brushed oast him and approached the sceptre. Scrunching his face up in distaste, he grabbed it.

"I highly advise you put that back," Director Fury's voice boomed from above.

"I refuse. This is evil magic. It corrupts. It must be taken to Asgard where it can be properly locked away from anyone who would use it,"Thor thundered back, anger clear in every line of his body. He raised his hammer and began to swing it round and round. As soon as he lifted it, all of Fury's agents trained their weapons on him.

"Put the weapons down," Fury commanded. Ignoring him, Thor launched himself into the air with a boom like thunder, sailing past the shocked agents and disappearing from sight. Fury swore and shouted into his comm for all agents in the building to apprehend Thor. With Fury distracted, the other Avengers took this opportunity to grab Darcy and the snarling, mostly crazed mess that was Loki and booking it back to the tower.

When they finally reached the 'safety' of the tower, Darcy was ridiculously relieved. It was freaking cool and all to have been personally carried to safety by Captain America himself, but if she had to spend one more minute in his perfectly sculpted arms, her brain would probably have melted from exposure. Seriously, yum.

She jumped out of his arms the first chance she got, thanked him and stood against the nearest wall, peering at the now silent Loki who was still restrained by the Hulk. He was frighteningly pale and shaking, like a drug addict going through withdrawals.

"So what are you planning on doing with him?" she asked, breaking the tense silence.

"Containment cell, for now," Tony spoke up,"Then we wait for Thor and see if Odin's terms have changed." In agreement, they all went their seperate ways. Tony led the Hulk down to the 'Time Out Zone', where they decided to keep the villain for now, Arms and Red (as Darcy had named them in her head) disappeared without her even noticing, Captain America (Really ma'am, Steve is fine! ) apologised for running out on her, but said that he really wanted to find Fury and discuss the current situation with him, which was fine with her. She really wanted to wash the crumbly ceiling bits and dust off anyway. She made her way to her apartment where her shower awaited.

A short while, and one dust free Darcy later, she found herself thinking about their captive. If she could even be considered part of the 'they'. After all, it wasn't like she intended to be kidnapped or present for the take down. Still, he hadn't looked too hot when he had held her hostage, and he seemed to have been in worse shape once Thor had taken off.

She knew she really shouldn't, but... Well, curiosity got the better of her and she asked JARVIS where Loki was being held.

"I don't believe this is a wise decision, Miss Lewis," the program cautioned as she made her way through the building.

"Oh hush. If it was really dangerous, you wouldn't have told me where to find him," she said smugly.

There was a brief pause before the AI spoke again, "I still say that this is unwise, and at times you are frighteningly like Sir."

"If you say so," she chuckled, only to have the sound die in her throat when the door slid open, revealing Loki and the cage he was locked in. There was no other way to describe the thing that confined him. Made of what appeared to be bulletproof glass and bars of metal, it looked as if it was made for something three times his size. This could only be the safe room Tony had made for Dr. Banner when he moved in. Now she actually examined the captive himself and blanched, he looked like a ghost. A sick, pale, sweaty ghost. You know, if ghosts weren't dead and could get sick. With dark smudged bruises under his eyes, Darcy was once again reminded of a drug addict. She wondered if the power from the sceptre had acted like some sort of drug for Loki.

"You look like shit," she muttered, surprising herself with the pang of pity she felt for the god.

"Aye," came a voice from behind her. Startled, she swung around, flailing her arms to swat away whoever had scared her. Even if it wouldn't do much in the way of damage. Immediately her arms were caught in a strong grip and she relaxed when she recognised Thor holding her arms still.

"Hey, Thor, what's the sitch?" she whispered. He released her arms and dragged his hand across his face, body sagging with weariness.

"The sceptre has been locked away in Asgard. Loki, nor anyone else will ever be able to access it again," he informed her. "Now that it no longer has a hold of my brother's mind, I pray that he will recover. The poison is still in his mind, for now, but I believe with time it will fade." Darcy let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Good," she gave him a tentative smile, "That's good."

She just hoped it would be enough.


End file.
